Feng Shui Your Home to a Healthy Life: Embracing Ancient Wisdom in Modern-Day Living

Feng shui is on the rise because the West is becoming more open and curious about using this ancient Eastern wisdom. The demand to build properties with feng shui in mind has also gone mainstream. According to Fortune magazine, “More developers and Realtors are applying feng shui principles to ensure positive energy.”

Feng shui proponents believe that people that live in a place with good or strong feng shui are likely to be blessed with a long, healthy life. This idea goes as far back as the Ming and Qing dynasties when Chinese emperors were known to have used and closely guarded this precious knowledge to help them attain power, longevity, good health and prosperity.

While feng shui originated in China more than 5,000 years ago, with history rooted deep in Taoism and Chinese cosmology (not Buddhism), this ancient discipline is valuable medicine for modern-day living.

To define it simply, feng shui is the study of energy in our living environment. It was conceived as a way for humans to connect with nature at home. The deliberate way of building a house from the location and facing direction of the property and the internal layout of the floorplan, to the strategic placement of furniture and interior décor, are all meant to help us live in alignment with our natural environment. The goal of feng shui is to harness benevolent energy from our external environment into our homes to support and influence life in a positive way.

No matter how much more complicated life may seem like today compared to the simple, primitive days of the past, our deepest desires remain fundamentally the same. We all want to achieve optimal health, to surround ourselves with positive people, to live a well-intentioned life, to be in loving relationships, and to utilize our skills in work that offers fulfillment and reward.

Because our homes are essentially like vital containers that “hold” us—a place where we gather with our loved ones and feel safe to manifest our dreams—feng shui is thought to be a life-changing tool that can set us up for success. Here are eight ways feng shui is believed to be a benefit:

1. It can create harmony and promote healthy and prosperous energy to support all aspects of life, including relationships, money, career, fame and reputation, and health.
2. It can articulate the strengths and potential weaknesses of the home so we understand the energy flow of our living space.
3. It is useful in selecting and customizing a home tailored to fit our and our family’s needs.
4. It can be used to “zoom in” and explain troublesome areas in life that may demand our immediate attention.
5. It can be used to guide family members to sleep in a more suitable bedroom.
6. It can predict the life cycle and fortune of the house, and how it will specifically affect us and our family in the short and long term.
7. It is useful when it comes to plans for renovations, upgrades and redesign of the physical floor plan.
8. It can be used as a strategic guide for choosing appropriate color tones and decorative objects for the interior aesthetics of the home.

A client once said this about feng shui: “I was blown away by the thoroughness and the benefits that feng shui has provided me in both my professional space and my home space. The advice was simple to help me improve certain rooms or spaces without making drastic changes. It’s truly the most fascinating modality I’ve ever encountered, as it provides invaluable information about your personal energy and how it interacts with the elements around you.”

Jen Stone is an accredited feng shui master and owner of Feng Shui by Jen. She authored The First Guidebook for Feng Shui Enthusiasts and offers formal training classes on feng shui and BaZi Chinese astrology overseas and in the U.S., including Scottsdale. She can be reached at FengShuiByJen.com.